Briefs

September 03, 2003

NEW BUSINESS. Smithfield Foods announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of a 90 percent interest in Cumberland Gap Provision Co. for $56.9 million. Cumberland Gap is a processor of premium-branded hickory smoked hams, sausages and other specialty processed pork products. Based in Kentucky, the company had sales of $70 million in 2002. Cumberland Gap will operate as a separate stand-alone entity within Smithfield's John Morrell & Co.

CHILDREN AMONG POOREST. Nearly 1.4 million more people in the United States fell into poverty last year, almost half of them children, according to a recent Census Bureau survey. About 12.4 percent of the population, or nearly 34.8 million people, lived in poverty in 2002. That was up from 12.1 percent, or 33.4 million, in 2001. Roughly 17.2 percent of children, or 12.2 million, lived in poverty in 2002, up from 16.4 percent, or about 11.5 million, in 2001. Average national household income is around $43,000.

EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS. Kmart announced the hiring of three executives to help forge the discount retailer's creative vision for store merchandising, oversee its supply chain and lead its human resources department. The Michigan-based company appointed Lisa Schultz as senior vice president and chief creative officer, Bruce Johnson as senior vice president supply chain and operations and Janet Kelly as senior vice president and chief administrative officer.

WORK FORCE REDUCTION. Postal service company DHL said it will lay off 2,870 U.S. workers due to its acquisition of the ground-express delivery operations of Airborne Inc. The layoffs represent about 6 percent of the company's total U.S. work force of more than 44,000 employees. DHL's pick-up and delivery services will now be handled by couriers servicing Seattle-based Airborne's delivery network, which DHL bought Aug. 15 for $1.05 billion. Florida based- DHL is a unit of German postal service Deutsche Post AG.

CHICAGO DEBUT. Hoy, a daily Spanish-language newspaper has hit newsstands in Chicago. This new, second-city edition follows Hoy's successful five years in New York, where the publication debuted in 1998.

Since then, it has become the second largest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the U.S. and the largest in New York City. The single-copy, tabloid- sized paper replaces !Exito! the 10-year-old Spanish-language weekly published by the Chicago Tribune. Hoy is published by Tribune Co., which owns 12 daily newspapers and has broadcast holdings in more than 20 TV stations and four radio stations. Tribune ownes the Chicago Tribune and is the parent company of the Daily Press and Virginia Gazette.

2004 HYBRIDS ARE COMING.

Toyota hopes to boost annual sales of its hybrid gas and electric Prius in the United States by 75 percent, Yukitoshi Funo, the new president and chief executive of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. said Tuesday. Toyota wants to sell 35,000 of its next-generation hybrid car in the United States per year, up from the 20,000 Prius passenger cars Toyota now sells annually, Funo said. The 2004 Prius hits showrooms next month featuring better performance and higher gas mileage than the current model.